Dorothy DowlingDorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western Hotels & Resorts (BW) was named the 18th most influential Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in the world in the Forbes/ScribbleLive/LinkedIn’s 4th Annual CMO Influence Study. This study evaluates the most influential CMOs in the world based on an analysis of the top 500 companies from the 2015 Forbes Global 2000 Largest Companies list and the 2015 Forbes Most Valuable Brands lists. The honorees include individuals from top global brands, including Apple, General Motors and Master Card. BW’s Dowling, who jumped in the rankings from 27th in 2014 to 18th in 2015, is the third highest ranked female CMO on the list and is one of just two hotel marketing leaders on this year’s list. In addition, Dowling and Apple’s Phil Schiller were both named to the list of top ten influencers on the topic of global marketing. Dowling joined BW in 2004. During her tenure she has reenergized the Best Western Rewards® loyalty program, grown the brand’s market share and undertaken several groundbreaking initiatives. In 2015 and 2016 Dowling is at the helm of a comprehensive global brand refresh for the iconic Best Western brand, including a complete redesign of the brand’s digital platform, the award-winning bestwestern.com site and the implementation of a “mobile first” strategy.